Iraq

ziti

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Description

i have been a long time between posts, and i have not done anything quite like this before...this is just a sound painting.

all helicopters, machine guns, rockets, bombs and explosions are played on the 2 PRS guitars, ruby and sapphire.

I used the playable keyboard function to creat the simple chord bed, which was fun...

i was watching you tube video of an apache helicopter shooting a few insurgents....and trying to imagine being either the gunned down or the gunner...and a can't imagine myself in that place.

I dedicate this piece to all those who have suffered and died in this war.

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Song Stats

Hits: 2143
Comments: 55
Fans: 32
Plays: 388
Downloads: 114
Votes: 23
Uploaded: Oct 01, 2007 - 11:33:57 PM
Last Updated: Oct 01, 2007 - 11:33:57 PM Last Played: Nov 08, 2009 - 12:04:38 PM

Song License

Creative Commons License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

Song Actions

Keywords:

hymn for peace and healing (1)

Hardware:

prs guitars, ibanez acoustic LINE6 amp

Software:

Comments

Reinholt56	Reinholt56 said 786 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)
	Very effective... This piece seemed very effective to me. The effects and the beautiful guitar sound, along with the chord bed. Excellent. Paul. Check out my latest song called Celestial Mechanics #2

ziti	ziti said 784 days ago (October 3rd, 2007)
	from a master of this sort of composition, this is a high compliment. Thank you so much! Check out my latest song called All Smokey

thoddi

thoddi said 786 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)

Oh yeah
Magnificent sound bed. Really an eyeopener for what sounds and effects is possible to get out of the guitar... if you have the skills to perform it that is;) Which you certainly show to the full that you have:)

Not only did you impress me with your technical skills, but you have made a very beautiful piece of music here ziti. You made my thoughts go to the ones that suffers in war zones.

I bet Hendrix would have enjoyed this one:)

Brilliant!

Peace and love

Check out my latest song called Don't tell me what I can't w/KTB and Ingve

thoddi	thoddi said 786 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)
	10's OK, I'm the one with the post about stopping with the 10's. Well you deserve them. I gave you an all 10's vote on this, because you're worth it:) --- Imagination is more important then knowledge! - Albert Einstein. Check out my latest song called Don't tell me what I can't w/KTB and Ingve

ziti	ziti said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)
	thank you very much for the kindness thoddi Check out my latest song called All Smokey

	said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)
	Nice painting I really dig your guitar who speaks to me.... This is like a "Salvador dali" painting done with a guitar..... Kudos my friend. Take care --- Kenta

	said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)
	10's .. Thanks ! WOW ! Mr. Fran, this is a very very very effective music, brought tears to my eyes ! The guitar sound here killer and i understand its sounds in the background like child crying .. Special thanks from my heart for this post ! Deepest bows Take Care ============== Yeman Auf Al-Rawi

ziti

ziti said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)

thanks yemen
actually yemen, there was a post of yours a while back that kind of started this piece on it's way...a piece where you used the classic descending chord structure i use on this...i was thinking how easily those three basic chords...A minor, G major, F major...can switch back and forth from rock to spanish flavored music...and off i went...those three chords have a powerful sadness to them.

I hope we can find peace in your part of the world very soon. It is scary to see ancient tribal hatred mix with religious fanatacism and imperialistic greed. There are so many people behaving badly...we can only pray for enlightenment from something, or someone, to lead us out of this horrible mess.

thanks for the kind words yeman

Check out my latest song called All Smokey

Cori Ander

Cori Ander said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)

Can you do anything?
Seems like you can do almost anything with a guitar Fran!
I am truely impressed! Again.

I wish every man in this world was as sensitive as you (and me and many other musicians, artists and whatever) .. then there would be no war .. absolutely none .. imagine zero war .. no shooting or stabbing whatsoever .. anywhere ..

Check out my latest song called Guitar test — Martin CSN (Gerry Tolman Tribute)

Feter	Feter said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)
	Amen ! I heard pain ,I heard reality, and there I senced the prayer . Amen to all !! Check out my latest song called A Night With Feter feat'(Roxylee sloparts crissew johnwhitehead and Yamin AL Yamani )

steve_cx	steve_cx said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)
	Hard to listen to... ...without a tear welling up. Not for the faint-hearted! Beautiful, haunting, atmospheric. Well done.

drakonis

drakonis said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)

screams of regret
You really pull off the initial cacophony of chaos, slowly giving way to rubble and dust, and the lingering taste of steel and regret. Amazing job of folding in layers of guitar-based sound effects of war, placing them along the path from the explosive beginnings through the streets of anxious fear and despair, and marching on with a faint beautiful melody of hope, only to have the nightmare return at the end. I completely echo your sentiments, and do a little every day to bring peace to this world as well. Daring and heartfelt piece, Fran.
ttfn,
Drakonis

Check out my latest song called Lullaby for the Inner Child

ziti

ziti said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)

i havent recorded
any sort of production number in so long. I have been so absorbed with learning to play and record the acoustic, as well as recording the band...and I really didnt mean to do this one now. I really was just messing around...but being in the prolonged funk i have been in...i just kept plugging away on this as it took shape in my head...

I think the war is the greatest single mistake ever made by my country. But I did not make this piece as a statement about the politics of this, just the human pain. Just the pain on both sides...you see with your eyes the effects large calibre weaponry can do to the human body...but what does pulling the trigger do to the human mind and soul? How can you watch someones body explode before you, as a result of your actions, and not be effected by this for life. Pain...useless destruction.

The sound effects are all actually played on the guitar...the helicopter is a fretted, muted staccato picked B note....the machine gun is the side of the pick, rubbed on the E string up by the bridge, using the bridge pickup. I used the wammy bar and a highly rectified amp setting for the bombs and rockets...funny thing...after the bombs take, and after just TORTURING my poor guitar to get those noises out, the damn thing was still in tune.

PRS rules!!!

thanks for the listen and comments Drak!

z

Check out my latest song called All Smokey

EZamor

EZamor said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)

heartfelt
this is a very evocative piece of music. i usually try to listen to macjams tunes at least once before reading the artists description, so that i might form my own opinion first, and then read what they might have to say about their work. i did that here, and damn, i certainly did not have any trouble feeling what is being conveyed by your work of art. it's absolutely astounding how you can tell a story without having to use words. the helicopter and explosion effects are unmistakable, as are the certain emotions expressed through the music.

best,
-=ez

Check out my latest song called Peace (One Drop in the Blue) (w/ LunaTrick)

ziti

ziti said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)

thank you
yes...i was hesitant to post it, because when it was finished and I knew it was finished, I couldnt hear it anymore.

but listening to it today, and reading some of the reactions, I am glad that i did post it. I dont know if anyone else is like me, but this war hangs in the back of my mind all the time. The same as when you wake up and remember something bad had happened but you cant remember what it is...

it does seem endless and hopeless...and it is very very sad.

Check out my latest song called All Smokey

Einarus	Einarus said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)
	Breathtaking The imagery of this track is amazing. So epic and heartfelt. Really powerful stuff. -Einar S. Check out my latest song called Running Scared (w/ Ziti)

guitapick

guitapick said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)

I'd say that this is great...
...except that it's actually terrifying. Art can take so many directions and this piece is pretty obvious in it's intent.

The pure terror of the 'coptors and guns/missiles...the vulnerability of the land in which it takes place (or, rather, the land in which any war takes place. Although they're the most directly involved, soldiers are not the only ones affected by war)...the sparsity of the desert landscape, painted by the acoustic guitar...

It all just paints a picture that's always in the back of my mind, too. Some kind of piece of art, z...kudos...

Check out my latest song called Outside the Corral

Scott Carmichael

Scott Carmichael said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)

Hey Fran
this is one of the very best I've heard in this genre... there are definately different critera for soundtrack work... you made me experience and enter into those moments of what must be abject horror and confusion... I really love what you've created when the dust 1st settles... those moments captured, seem to be wandering & shellshocked...

this is a bold and daring departture for you... and very impressive

Check out my latest song called Good Morning

jiguma	jiguma said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)
	Talk about ... .... getting taken for a rough (but beautiful) ride! Excellent stuff Fran! Peace, Neil Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)

ktb

ktb said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)

heavy duty
wow, what a trip. You really stretched out on this one. At first it was jarring and I think that just set me up perfectly for what followed. Stunning fret work, but its the ambient fill thats equal to the match.

I wanna say to you, don't watch anything more on the war, but then again, to hear this. I wish it could cancel out the bad vibes. very emotive

Check out my latest song called Texas stump

Ibstrat	Ibstrat said 785 days ago (October 2nd, 2007)
	This is great stuff You are really connected to that guitar-I can feel your pain in the music.Just excellent playing...some of those bends just floored me. Check out my latest song called Blues in Bm

paul f. page

paul f. page said 785 days ago (October 3rd, 2007)

It amazes me...
...how well you seem to understand the story of your composition. You take the collective terror and compassion and longing and loneliness and every other emotion associated with war and do this incredible mix of orchestration (and superior guitar playing) and fashion something that is absolutely unique. I have no idea how anyone can THINK of all of this and keep it straight. It is really amazing. All 10s here. I have never heard anything like this done with such care.
Peace...to us all.
Paul

Check out my latest song called Double Etude

ziti	ziti said 782 days ago (October 5th, 2007)
	thanks Paul F I think you know how much i respect you. That you take any of the simple music I make seriously, is delightful to me. Thanks for the thoughtful comments! Check out my latest song called All Smokey

bud	bud said 784 days ago (October 3rd, 2007)
	Expressive, haunting too true and too sad. I hear your heart in every note. Thanks for posting. Check out my latest song called try not to think

*itiswotitis*	*itiswotitis* said 784 days ago (October 3rd, 2007)
	pensive playing.... lots of feeling in it! Check out my latest song called WALKING BASS IN THE CLOUDS

perceptualvortex	perceptualvortex said 784 days ago (October 3rd, 2007)
	Yes This war hangs in the back of my mind all the time too. This is actually really effective and sad and interesting. Cool to hear something so radically different from you. Check out my latest song called Machine Man (w Beastie Boys)

	said 783 days ago (October 4th, 2007)
	Straight... not tens... but four spinal tap elevens!

djdrshaman	djdrshaman said 783 days ago (October 4th, 2007)
	like a surreal dream blend of beautiful plaintive tones and jarring metal sounds (world percussion and artillery) - cool fusion of free form rock, jazz, new age, and cinematic. Check out my latest song called The East Weeps in the West (collab w/ birdmanwayne)

Warren Smith

Warren Smith said 782 days ago (October 5th, 2007)

Fran-tastic
Musically, what I find interesting about this extended piece, is the way you have taken a standard format - the blues jam - and twisted it into something new and different. One still gets the feeling you are jamming - improvising - but an apparent blues structure that would normally hold this together has been stripped away (or, at least, pushed far into the background).

This exploding of the blues structure underlines the theme of your piece by metaphorincally suggesting the impact war has on a culture: as social norms disappear in the tumult of war we are left with chaos and raw emotion.

The image that keeps popping into my mind when I listen is those early cubist paintings by Picasso and Braque that shattered the picture plane (although I don't know if this cross-reference to cubism is apropos - I really haven't thought this through). There are realistic parts (helecopters, gunfire) mixed into a whirl of abstractions. What I hear is a tangle of painful emotions powerfully articulating the anger and anguish over the mindless daily slaughter, and the frustration at being unable to change the course of the stupidity.

It's a fantastic concept piece (I almost slipped and said "Frantastic") that engages the listener both intellectually and emotional on a timely topic.

Check out my latest song called Pushing and Pulling

ziti

ziti said 782 days ago (October 5th, 2007)

wow...I love when you comment warren
You make my efforts sound so ...deep....heheheh...seriously, you hit the nail on the head...i did want the chaos to totally disrupt all the order and beauty and simplicity of a peaceful life....the basis is fluid, always changing, but always full of terror, and the unknown...

the only nit i have with your critique is that this is not based on a standard 1-4-5 12 bar structure at all, but a very generic 3 chord sequence of Am-G-F...which can be permutated by the slightest rythmic changes to go from rock to spanish sounds...it is the same three chords that form the sad part of the Allman Brothers live Whipping post....and i think this sequece appears at least 3 times on every Santana album...

I truly appreciate the thoughtful and thought provoking comments as always, Warren!

best
z

Check out my latest song called All Smokey

Warren Smith	Warren Smith said 779 days ago (October 8th, 2007)
	Thinking things through Oops ... I guess my structural anaylsis needed more thought, too : > Check out my latest song called Pushing and Pulling

Mcboy	Mcboy said 782 days ago (October 5th, 2007)
	now thats what i'm talking about....creativity unleashed......sigh.....hehhehhe.....12,000 bows.... Check out my latest song called Heros( aclarke/mcboy)

ziti	ziti said 782 days ago (October 5th, 2007)
	thanks McBoy...i appreciate it! Check out my latest song called All Smokey

AEROjet

AEROjet said 782 days ago (October 5th, 2007)

Iraq
Ziti,
I recognize your intent and I appreciate your playfulness with the guitar sounds. When you switch over to acoustic guitar, everything clicks together, and I just love the romantic atmosphere, but I felt that the opening was too messy. I couldn't distinguish between the rockets and the bombs, it just felt like a puddle of electric guitar. I did find the rest of the piece quite beautiful. In fact, it left me feeling very melancholy. The opening is the only part I want to criticize, the rest of the piece deserves only compliments.

Joel

Check out my latest song called You Got Me (remix)

ziti

ziti said 781 days ago (October 6th, 2007)

interesting comments
i suppose the difference between the rockets and bombs would be difficult to distinguish....i also tryed to add humans screaming into that mix....i did actually play all those sound effects in one take, there were no overdubs...until the helicopters and machine guns come in, it is a single take. I think my intent was to imagine what the whole thing must actually sound like, if you happen to be somewhere that is in the middle of an aerial assault. It must be a horrible sound. Maybe I am different from other people, but when I am very frightened or very angry, I hear a sound...an ugly almost painful sound that comes from my brain and not my ears....i think that is the sound i was trying for, the combination of all the outer war noises and the inner scream of horror.

It was not a fun experience to play the guitar that way. Playing an instrument and trying to express total horror is really depressing. But it is, I found, a great emotional release, because perhaps these sounds were feelings I had been holding in for a very long time....but I did totally misuse and abuse my most beloved guitar to create those noises....there are no speakers involved here, so none of that noise was feedback, but more open strings allowed to ring out, highly compressed and drenched in gain.

I truly appreciate the time you spent listening to this and writing the thoughtful critique.

Thanks!!

best
z

Check out my latest song called All Smokey

AEROjet

AEROjet said 781 days ago (October 6th, 2007)

Iraq
I was simply remembering to keep constructive with my comments.

Thanks for the elaboration on your process Ziti, I feel like I understand your intent better now. I can see that you are definitely tapping into your creativity with this piece, and there's plenty of room to hear your interpretations of the war transmitted through music. This was quite the undertaking.

Check out my latest song called You Got Me (remix)

mvh9591	mvh9591 said 782 days ago (October 5th, 2007)
	Very Nice_____ Great piece of work. Awesome guitars - everything. I enjoyed this one very much. Thanks for sharing, mvh : ) Check out my latest song called Ease My Troubled Mind

lengold	lengold said 781 days ago (October 6th, 2007)
	Bravo Bravo. Cheers Len Check out my latest song called Dodgy Doughnut

futzpucker	futzpucker said 781 days ago (October 6th, 2007)
	Very pleased for you This is quite an accomplishment, Brother Fran. You have much to be proud of here. What you set out to do, you did masterfully. Congratulations. Check out my latest song called Just As It Is

J.A.Stewart	J.A.Stewart said 780 days ago (October 7th, 2007)
	Interesting interpretation of the internal and external horrors of war. Lovely guitar tone --- and playing. Reminds me a bit of Carlos... with a brief assist from Jimi ;) --- Joe Check out my latest song called A Night @ Neverland

thetiler

thetiler said 780 days ago (October 7th, 2007)

incredible
how you had the imagination to put the artillery mix and then enter the blues. Really does fit quite right, the moaning of that ziti blues electric is very striking indeed!

This is a real Ziti soul tune! for sure.
I think I hear a bit of Jimi H. in there. The influence of the Hendrix bombs seem to haunt most guitarist and I think you must of thought of him as well. Especially when you do those dive bombs. Incredible imagery Z in the end. @@WOW@@!!! Sadly something like this has to be played to pay homage to the lost. Way to go Z ! Well done indeed!

Check out my latest song called The Bluebird Cafe (with two other guest)

FGarofalo	FGarofalo said 780 days ago (October 7th, 2007)
	Wow So much of what I love is here. I here Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd. Very well done. Frank. Check out my latest song called Chosen Few

davisamerica	davisamerica said 779 days ago (October 8th, 2007)
	well a very powerful piece this one is. images and textures are amazing. great guitar work! Check out my latest song called No Son(egobandit band)

Ed Hannifin

Ed Hannifin said 779 days ago (October 8th, 2007)

Sound effects are one thing...
...and, sure, they've been 'done'...But what really undid me on this one were some of the very human and very wrenching near-vocal cries you pulled out on this one... And yeah, a lot of blues guitarists are compared to crying human beings, only on this one you've got some cries that sound more human than human...

I'll put this comment in tandem with Warren's: it's Guernica in musical form, fractal shards of sliced war...

You'll forgive me if it's not what I put on to fall asleep or calm my mind... This is music where, you have to be listening to it or you might as well leave it alone...

Ed

Check out my latest song called Next Time Around (w/jiguma)

ziti

ziti said 778 days ago (October 9th, 2007)

the picasso painting
would be an excellent representation of this!...i wish i'd thought of that for the art instead of the reflective artiste one....

thanks for the comment ed....i really tortured poor sapphire for the sounds...and it's not as easy as standing in front of a speaker cabinet, then controlling the feedback...but the rectified settings on the pod can do some amazing things....

thank you as always for your comments, and palship

z

Check out my latest song called All Smokey

Mistrotravo	Mistrotravo said 779 days ago (October 8th, 2007)
	Oh.... I wish i could think of something smart to say- but nothing i can think of could due justice to just how magnificient this is... I almost didn't even post. It's like I feel unworthy. Check out my latest song called You hate it when I hate you back

ziti	ziti said 778 days ago (October 9th, 2007)
	i am glad you did thank you so much for the kind words!!! Check out my latest song called All Smokey

Heightened	Heightened said 776 days ago (October 11th, 2007)
	Bagdad Excellent! And excellent guitar! Heightened Check out my latest song called A Journey Through Starburst Galaxy M82

Bowman

Bowman said 771 days ago (October 16th, 2007)

Searing soundscapes...
and a soulful guitar really works beautifully to evoke a tragic and nightmarish landscape.
I have a piece called Flight over Baghdad which was inspired when hearing General Patreous describe such a flight he took months ago. It's very different from yours but I think we both felt a need to somehow express what we feel in the face of such horrors.
Great Piece Ziti,
Best,
Bowman

Check out my latest song called The Orion Express - MJ Space Race 2009 by Bowman

VicDiesel	VicDiesel said 731 days ago (November 25th, 2007)
	Nice work, mr Z! Not much to say about this: excellent guitar work, and great soundscaping. A very effective piece. Check out my latest song called Desert Stars

VicDiesel	VicDiesel said 731 days ago (November 25th, 2007)
	Posted too soon I'm sorry, but those tablas that come in halfway are really a case of kitchen sink arranging. There is absolutely nothing missing in the ingredients of the track up to that point. Throwing in those random hits only detracts the listener's attention, and it doesn't contribute anything to the track. Check out my latest song called Desert Stars

ziti	ziti said 731 days ago (November 25th, 2007)
	you know, I have often felt that way about that section.... Check out my latest song called All Smokey

ziti	ziti said 651 days ago (February 13th, 2008)
	hey vic... after a long period of not hearing this tune, i listened again...and I love the tablas...brings the cultural war into view very nicely in a musical sense, and leads into the next major chord change...too me anyway. but i appreciate the comment!! Check out my latest song called All Smokey

wildclearing	wildclearing said 648 days ago (February 16th, 2008)
	well-woven complexity Very effective and moving - the visuals with it would have to reflective and pensive -- place and person, weaving and complimenting, sometimes trailing - the sound would be guiding the image, I think --

magnatone	magnatone said 646 days ago (February 18th, 2008)
	This is a Masterpiece I'm just discovering you Ziti - being very new to MJ. Your guitar is astounding here. Really , my jaw is on the floor. This makes me feel so much - BRAVO!! Check out my latest song called Symphonic Smackdown